(Third-Person POV)
Meanwhile, in the demon realm, the Maledictus clan was in turmoil.
A female demon, Agatha, a general of one of the squads, hurried into the throne room and bowed before Rose. "My Queen, I bring grave news!"
Rose, who had been reclining peacefully on her throne, arched a brow and looked down at Agatha. "What is it?"
Agatha swallowed hard, summoning the courage to speak. "It’s the infernal demon slaves. One of them has escaped!"
"WHAT?!" Rose roared, standing abruptly. "How, Agatha? I thought they were under your watch!"
"Yes, my Queen, and I humbly apologize for my failure. But—"
"But what?" Rose’s gaze darkened.
"The curse we placed on them to prevent them from using magic... it was somehow lifted from this particular demon," Agatha reported.
Rose’s eyes narrowed. "That’s impossible! Infernals can’t lift curses on their own." She paced forward, stopping right in front of Agatha. "Unless... a Maledictus clan demon removed it for him."
Agatha swallowed again. "Yes, my Queen."
Rose let out a dark chuckle. "So, we have a traitor among us. Who in their right mind would aid a demon we worked so hard to defeat? And for what purpose?"
"I don’t know, my Queen."
Rose sighed, walking back to her throne and sitting comfortably. "Something isn’t right. I have a bad feeling about this. Summon Nathan, the general commander of Squad Two. He might be able to explain what’s going on."
Agatha hesitated. "I’m afraid... the infernal demon took him."
Rose’s eyes widened. "What?"
Agatha clenched her fists. "The escaped demon was none other than Berial, one of Draegonoth’s general commanders—a necromancer who once led an army of the undead for the previous demon lord. He turned Nathan into an undead and used him to aid his escape."
Rose’s breath hitched. "Impossible! He turned Nathan into an undead? How? How did Berial even regain his powers?"
She pressed her fingers against her temple as a sudden headache pulsed through her skull. "Agatha, bring me a glass of water."
As Agatha hurried out, Rose struggled to piece everything together. Nathan—one of her most powerful mages—defeated and taken? The thought left her unsettled.
When Agatha returned with the water, Rose took a slow sip before issuing her next command. "Mobilize the search squads. Find that escaped prisoner. I want Berial and Nathan back—dead or alive."
Meanwhile...
Asher was training, trying to form square-shaped tables using geomancy. Night had long fallen, and the stars glittered in the sky above Kumba Village, their glow enhanced by the magic crystals that illuminated the area.
After many failed attempts, he finally succeeded in creating square tables. Though they were far from perfect, the Grandmaster allowed him to leave. Bidding his farewells, he teleported back to his realm.
As he arrived there, the area was dark, with only his artificial moon casting a dim glow.
"Guys!!" he called loudly. "Where are you?"
"We’re over here!" a voice shouted back.
Following the sound, Asher spotted smoke rising in the distance. When he arrived there, he found his friends gathered around a fire, roasting fish. Brian, however, had eaten himself into a food coma.
"Hey, everyone! Sorry, I—"
Before he could finish, Rin leaped into his arms, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back.
"Asherman, I thought you weren’t coming back, dude. I was scared," Adrian admitted.
"Scared of what?" Asher teased.
Adrian tilted his head toward Tama.
Tama pouted, groaning. "Look at me like that again, and I’ll kill you, human!" she threatened.
"Try it, and I’ll toss you into the river! Cats hate water, you know," Adrian shot back.
Tama grinned, clenching her fists. Adrian mirrored her stance.
Asher chuckled. "Wow... looks like you two are getting along just fine."
"NO, WE’RE NOT!!" they yelled in unison, then both turned away with crossed arms.
Derrick sighed. "They’ve been like this ever since you left with Kira. So... how did it go? Did you meet the Grandmaster?"
Asher sat beside Derrick, Rin by his side, holding his hand. "Yeah, he agreed to train me, but it’s way harder than I expected."
Derrick handed him a roasted fish. "Good things never come easy, my friend. You have to work for them. Starting tomorrow, I’ll start training too. I need to level up."
Asher took a bite of the fish, savoring the taste despite the lack of seasoning. "Yeah, I think it’s time we finally stick to our promise, guys—leveling up so we can smash all the C-rank girls!"
He grinned, knowing full well he had already broken that promise long ago. But saying it aloud was the best way to get his friends to take training seriously.
He had a gut feeling they needed to get stronger. If another situation like the field trip happened when he wasn’t around, they had to be able to defend themselves.
"Four Eyes!" Asher called out. "Tama’s just a C-rank. If you train hard enough, she might let you smash."
Adrian scoffed. "Like hell I’d ever sleep with a cat girl. A black cat girl, no less."
Tama rolled her eyes. "As if I’d let some weakling sleep with me. I need a strong mate to restore my clan. If anything, I want my master’s seed." She walked over to Asher.
Rin, sitting beside him, immediately shoved Tama away. Then, without warning, she pounced on Asher, locking lips with him.
"Rin wants sex!" she mumbled against his mouth.
The others gawked in shock.
"Mmph—Rin, stop!" Asher tried to push her away.
"Rin wants sex now!" she insisted.
Asher let out a sigh and gently shoved Rin off him. Then he turned to his friends. "Wake Brian up, guys. We’re leaving."
Grumbling, they obeyed. Four Eyes, especially, was not happy about it.
And now, since the realm still lacked proper infrastructure, Asher decided to bring Rin and Tama back to the outside world with him, then teleported them into his room where he told them not to make any noise.
But there was a problem.
Rin was too horny.
The moment they arrived, she shoved Asher onto his bed, straddling him with kisses.
Naturally, Tama felt left out.
So she decided to join in... and turn it into an orgy.
TBC